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Cisco MDS Series vs Dell PowerStore comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Enterprise SAN category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 10.0, while Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. Cisco holds a 6.7% mindshare in ES, compared to Dell Technologies’s 33.0% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.
Cisco MDS Series
Read 9 Cisco MDS Series reviews
  • 786 Views
  • 474 Comparison Views
80% willing to recommend
Dell PowerStore
Read 114 Dell PowerStore reviews
  • 1,264 Views
  • 812 Comparison Views
97% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco MDS Series and Dell PowerStore based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise SAN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore
June 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco MDS Series
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
2nd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerStore
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
114
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (4th), NAS (1st), All-Flash Storage (1st), NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 6.7%, down from 26.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerStore is 33.0%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures consistent availability during updates and integrates seamlessly
I am using Cisco MDS in SAN environments for storage connections and server connections The product is very stable and performs well. During the update periods, the devices do not need to reload, ensuring constant availability. It is easy to set up and use. I do not have a central management…
Read full review
Hassan_Zaki - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrated AI and clustering enhance storage operations effectively
I promote and recommend Dell PowerStore for all workloads to my clients and customers. Most of my customers have one appliance per site. Approximately 80% of my customers have Dell PowerStore implemented in their data centers. We always use CLS as another Dell solution for cybersecurity and data security. The CLS is integrated with the Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain, not with Dell PowerStore. Windows, Linux, and some customers use Red Hat or SUSE. We have many operating systems working with Dell PowerStore in the same environments and data centers. CloudIQ and Storage IQ are used by some customers, but Apex AIOps has not been widely adopted yet. Dell PowerStore has integration with VMware and Kubernetes. Most workloads work fine and have very good integration with Dell PowerStore, except for one or two specific workloads in the market. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Dell PowerStore a nine.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."
"The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple."
"The product is very stable and performs well."
"SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."
"The issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability."
"PowerStore is easy to use. All the drives use soft encryption. To upgrade it, you download the app, and it runs by itself. It's very easy to deploy, share, and create volumes."
"I have seen a return on investment with Dell PowerStore as it does what we wanted it to do. It gives me peace of mind."
"The supportability of SCME drives for faster data access from the PowerStore and is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerStore is the metro cluster because we have two data centers and high availability."
"It provides a big benefit when upgrading a new VMware environment. For example, in a big environment with 10 to 30 ESXs, you can take everything and put that into PowerStore. So, it is cost-effective, which is very important and has been massive for us. You reduce almost 80% from the hardware and work directly from PowerStore. Building hardware, especially in a big VMware environment, is a big issue for my organization."
"Overall, we're quite happy with the product because we can move the data that is stored on more than 10 of our current storage devices to a single PowerStore."
"The most valuable aspects of Dell PowerStore are the promising roadmap, and the interesting features to come."
"I assess customer service and technical support as very good."
More Dell PowerStore pros
 

Cons

"It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch."
"The licensing model could be less complicated."
"The product is very expensive."
"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming."
"I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling."
"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."
"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."
"Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time."
"Users can be enrolled in lifecycle extension with pro support. The pricing for that is too high for PowerStore."
"The pricing point must have better positioning. It is somewhat expensive compared to the competition."
"While using Dell PowerStore's interface in our organization, we sometimes miss out on some information."
"The solution’s security and technical support could be improved."
"The price is on the higher side."
"From our region perspective, it would be beneficial to have support with local languages for Dell PowerStore. However, English is acceptable for us as it serves our needs."
"More demonstration and training options are needed."
"I would improve Dell PowerStore by enhancing the replication feature because currently, users are limited to one applier, from one cluster, a Dell PowerStore cluster, to another Dell PowerStore cluster, but are not able to configure a three-site scenario."
More Dell PowerStore cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's perpetual licensing and maintenance is a recurrent cost."
"Pricing cannot be considered an advantageous trait of the solution since it is expensive. I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."
"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."
"We only have a single machine and we are currently using half of the hard disk slots. We have asked for an upgrade for the rest of the hard disks but, from my point of view, it costs too much. We have 12 to 15 hard disks inside and if we try to upgrade only the hard disks, it costs the same as the complete system. This is something I don't understand."
"The solution's price was comparable to other products for the use case, size, and setup."
"We are currently using Dell PowerStore for our smaller storage and there is no competition for pricing."
"The software features are included in the pricing without any additional purchase requirements."
"With compression, we were able to have a solution within our company's budget. We include a clause in the contract with Dell that states if the compression ratio is not met, we will adjust the workload accordingly."
"There are no separate licenses required as all the basic licenses are included in the bundle."
"Dell PowerStore is not a cheap solution."
"In terms of licensing, my organization has Dell Technologies End User License Agreement (EULA), but I don't know exactly how it works, though it is a big bundle of licenses for Dell Data Domain, Dell EMC Unity XT, Dell PowerStore, Dell ECS, and all such kinds of storage arrays."
More Dell PowerStore pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco MDS Series?
The product is easy to use.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?
The pricing could be improved as the solution is very expensive. I am on a yearly payment basis.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?
I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling.
See all answers
What do you think about Dell EMC PowerStore? Is it actually a new product?
PowerStore is flexible, scalable, simple, and performant with market-leading economics for a wide range of legacy and next-gen apps. It is only Flash and can support many workloads from today's app...
See all answers
How does Dell's EMC PowerStore compare with its EMC Unity XT?
Dell EMC PowerStore is a unified storage platform that has the added benefit of being scalable. The automated management of resources feature provides a more simple administration. I found the flex...
See all answers
What's the difference between DELL EMC Powerstore and Powermax NVMe?
Dell PowerStore is an all-solid-state midrange storage system. It has many internal elements taken from other Dell offerings and integrated into the PowerStoreOS. The installation and setup have a ...
See all answers
 

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Compared 9% of the time
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Compared 14% of the time
Dell Unity XT vs Dell PowerStore Logo
Dell Unity XT vs Dell PowerStore
Compared 13% of the time
Dell PowerVault vs Dell PowerStore Logo
Dell PowerVault vs Dell PowerStore
Compared 10% of the time
NetApp AFF vs Dell PowerStore Logo
NetApp AFF vs Dell PowerStore
Compared 9% of the time
IBM FlashSystem vs Dell PowerStore Logo
IBM FlashSystem vs Dell PowerStore
Compared 8% of the time
More Dell PowerStore Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Enterprise SAN
June 2025
Cisco MDS Series reportDownload Cisco MDS Series product report
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerStore
June 2025
Dell PowerStore reportDownload Dell PowerStore product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco MDS 9100, Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco MDS 9700
PowerStore
 

Overview

Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches have met and often exceeded the demanding requirements for storage area networks for more than a decade. They offer a combination of performance, non-stop operations, and multiprotocol flexibility.

Cisco

Dell PowerStore stands out for its high performance, flexibility, and easy integration with VMware. It offers notable data compression and deduplication capabilities while providing powerful NVMe support and machine learning to optimize IT operations.

Dell PowerStore is designed to offer a comprehensive approach to IT infrastructure by enhancing performance and simplifying management. It is particularly suitable for companies that require scalable solutions to increase compute or capacity independently. Featuring built-in intelligence, PowerStore allows efficient storage consolidation and reduced footprint, while integration with CloudIQ enhances monitoring and analytics. However, there are areas for improvement, such as stability, enterprise features, and the user interface. Pricing is high, and support responsiveness needs attention. Organizations primarily use PowerStore for VMware environments, storage, and data protection, supporting high-performance databases and VMware workloads. It is utilized in data centers for disaster recovery and hybrid setups.

What are the key features of Dell PowerStore?
  • Flexibility: Independently scales compute or capacity
  • High Performance: Offers powerful NVMe support and machine learning
  • Integration: Easily integrates with VMware
  • Data Efficiency: Provides data compression and deduplication
  • Simplified Management: Built-in intelligence for efficient storage management
What benefits should users consider?
  • Performance Optimization: Enhance IT operations with machine learning
  • Scalability: Increase compute or storage capacity as needed
  • Integration Potential: Improve efficiency with VMware and CloudIQ
  • Data Protection: Reliable for disaster recovery and hybrid environments

In industries like IT, finance, and healthcare, Dell PowerStore supports efficient data management and enhances infrastructure performance. Organizations leverage it to manage extensive data, streamline virtualization processes, and facilitate migration from legacy systems, while integrating cloud and on-premises infrastructures for improved operations.

Dell Technologies
 

Sample Customers

National Rugby League
Information Not Available
Buyer's Guide
Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore
June 2025
Free Report: Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore
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